Automating tasks with the Commands menu



    Create and manage commands

    To repeat the same task, create a command in the Commands menu from steps in the History panel and reuse the command. Steps replay exactly as they were originally performed. You can’t modify the steps as you replay them.

    To use steps the next time you start Flash, create and save a command. Saved commands are retained permanently, unless you delete them. Steps that you copy using the History panel Copy Steps command are discarded when you copy something else.

    Create a command from selected steps in the History panel. Rename or delete commands in the Manage Saved Commands dialog box.

    Create a command

    1. Select a step or set of steps in the History panel.
    2. Select Save As Command from the History panel options menu.
    3. Enter a name for the command and click OK. The command appears in the Commands menu.
      Note: The command is saved as a JavaScript file (with the extension .jsfl) in your Commands folder. This folder is in the following locations: Windows 2000 or Windows XP: boot drive\Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\Flash CS4\<language>\Configuration\Commands; Mac OS® X: Macintosh HD/Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Flash CS4/<language>/Configuration/Commands.

    Edit the names of commands in the Commands menu

    1. Select Commands > Manage Saved Commands.
    2. Select a command to rename.
    3. Click the Rename button.
    4. Enter the new name and click OK.

    Delete a name from the Commands menu

    1. Select Commands > Manage Saved Commands, and select a command.
    2. Click Delete, click Yes in the warning dialog box, and click OK.

    Run commands

    • To use a saved command, select the command from the Commands menu.

    • To run a JavaScript or Flash JavaScript command, select Commands > Run Command, navigate to the script to run, and click Open.

    Get more commands

    Use the Get More Commands option in the Commands menu to link to the Flash Exchange website at www.adobe.com/go/flash_exchange and download commands that other Flash users have posted. For more information on the commands posted there, see the Flash Exchange website.

    1. Make sure you are connected to the Internet.
    2. Select Commands > Get More Commands.

    Steps that can’t be used in commands

    Some tasks can’t be saved as commands or repeated using the Edit > Repeat menu item. These commands can be undone and redone, but they cannot be repeated.

    Examples of actions that can’t be saved as commands or repeated include selecting a frame or modifying a document size. If you attempt to save an unrepeatable action as a command, the command is not saved.